


Swept Away

by wordbending



Category: Cucumber Quest
Genre: F/F, First Kiss, Fluff, Trans Female Character, Trans Peridot, a tiny bit of almond/nautilus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-18
Updated: 2018-12-18
Packaged: 2019-09-21 15:57:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17046566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wordbending/pseuds/wordbending
Summary: Lately, whenever Almond sleeps, she's plagued by nightmares, nightmares that prevent her from ever getting a good night's rest.But little does she know that, one late night, a certain witch is having just as much trouble sleeping... and, as it turns out, for very similar reasons.





	Swept Away

**Author's Note:**

> Requested on Tumblr a while back! Thank you to whoever requested this!
> 
> This takes place in the same universe as my [Princess Cucumber](https://archiveofourown.org/series/909816) fics, where Cucumber comes out as a trans girl! As a result, Cucumber is referred to with "she" pronouns in this fic.

Almond was nowhere.

A black void stretched all around her. It was completely devoid of color, of light, of anything. She could still see herself perfectly, she thought, as she lifted her hands and looked down at them. Her hands, her arms, her body were all as bright as daylight. But she couldn’t see anything else.

It was… strange. Something about the all-encompassing darkness didn’t scare her.

But, of course, nothing scared her! She would figure out a way to get out of this place, wherever on Dreamside it was, and back to her friends, her… her _sister…_

Where was Cucumber? Cucumber was always by her side - and Almond was always by _her_ side. When she wasn’t, that always, always meant she was in some kind of trouble. She hated ever having to leave her sister alone, to fend for herself.

Not that Cucumber was _incapable,_ it was just that…

...OK, Cucumber was a little incapable. The little nerd. But only because she didn’t know how to fight!

She called out for her sister. “Cuco! Cuco! Where are you?”

But her voice echoed into nothingness. She heard it reflected back at her - _Cuco! Cuco! Cuco! Where, where, where…_

She didn’t know where she was, or how far the abyss went on for. So she decided to walk. Maybe, eventually, she’d find something, or somebody.

She took a step forward. As soon as her foot touched the ground, or what passed for it, white ripples shot out of it, like a raindrop falling into a lake. Her footstep echoed off the empty, black “sky”, so much louder than it possibly should be - _tak, tak, tak._

She wasn’t afraid.

But she gulped. _Gulp, gulp, gulp._

She continued walking, her footsteps continuing to echo - _tak, tak, tak._ She unsheathed her sword - _shkk, shkk, shkk_ \- and walked faster, her footsteps getting louder and louder as she picked up speed.

 _Where is Cucumber?_ she thought, as hard as she could. If it was as if she hoped she could summon her out of thin air. _Where is my sister?_

From out of the emptiness, she heard voices. They were strange, echoing, distorted.

“ _Surely, surely, surely… we, we, we… peace, peace, peace…”_

It was Cucumber’s voice! Her sister’s voice! She ran towards the sound, the endless expanse. Somewhere to the… northwest? Whatever! She had to find her!

The voices got louder and louder, and she picked up words from the second voice.

“ **You… you… you… Peace? Peace? Peace? Fool, fool, fool… hero, hero, hero…”**

It was a very deep, bass rumble. She recognized the voice instantly - the Nightmare Knight. She felt a chill run up her spine.

But the voice sounded a little strange to her ears. It wasn’t like when she had met him in the Ripple Kingdom, where it was clear as day. Instead, it sounded subtly off, like it was playing from an old television set. But she didn’t care how weird he sounded - she had to find Cucumber!

Suddenly, something emerged out of the darkness as she ran. It was Cucumber, her back turned to Almond, but she was… strange too. She looked more like an outline of herself, shifting in color - she wasn’t wearing her jacket and mittens, like she had been ever since they’d started traveling to the Crystal Kingdom. She wasn’t wearing her dress and her purse from the Flower Kingdom either. She was wearing her old outfit, a green shirt and green pants with a backpack - or, rather, the outlines of them.

But Almond didn’t care about Cucumber’s clothes. Because in front of Cucumber was a massive, towering figure who she recognized just as easily. It was, of course, the Nightmare Knight. Huge purple smoke clouds cascaded around where his legs would be, a blindingly bright blue aura seeming to surround him. It was just like when they were on Captain Caboodle’s spaceship, and… and the Nightmare Knight had…

“Cucumber!” she screamed. She started to run towards her. Almond’s voice echoed back at her - _Cucumber, Cucumber, Cucumber!_

And she got no closer. It was as if she was running in place.

The Nightmare Knight spoke again. As he spoke, his image shifted violently, splitting into pieces like he was made of waves. It was like when she watched episodes of Punisher Pumice and her TV service was on the fritz.

“ **This is the end.”**

**_End, end, end._ **

Almond pushed forward, running, running, running. She shoved at the darkness around her like it was a solid wall, or a curtain, or water, trying to force her way through this seemingly impossible barrier. But there was no barrier, not really - she just wasn’t running _fast enough…_

“ _Cucumber!”_ she screamed. She ran, but Cucumber still refused to get closer. _Cucumber! Cucumber! Cucumber!_

Cucumber turned to look at her, over her shoulder, and smiled as if she was just happy to see her.

At that very moment, Almond watched helplessly as the Nightmare Knight waved his hand, which split apart into tiny squares. There was a horrible, vibrating screech, a screech that had haunted her nightmares for so long now, a screech which echoed and echoed…

And then a wall, a wall of energy so bright and full of so much color that Cucumber was merely silhouetted against it, engulfed Cucumber.

Cucumber’s silhouette burned apart, like a piece of paper set ablaze, and then she was gone, and there was _nothing._

Almond screamed. Even her screams echoed.

And then she shot awake, flying upright, raising a hand to her chest. Her brow was covered in sweat. Her heart pounded like a drum, feeling like it was going to burst through her chest. Her throat didn’t feel sore, as if she had been screaming, but her whole body felt cold, colder than the Crystal Kingdom air.

She looked around herself, eyes darting back and forth…

And there was Cucumber, laying in her green mattress next to the fireplace, sleeping soundly.

She breathed a sigh of relief.

 _Ugh,_ she thought, laying her head back against the pillow of her sleeping bag and staring up at the night sky. Now she was never going to get back to sleep. Maybe she should fix her hair back into its usual braids and do some sword practicing.

Except, as she stared up at the stars, there was something… strange about them. There was one star that was out of place - it was really large and it was _moving,_ moving very fast. It was going in circles around their campsite, so it wasn’t a shooting star either. What the heck…?

She stood up, putting her hand over her eyes as if that would help her see it better. And she could swear, if she squinted hard enough, that she could see the outline of a young girl right near the star…

“Peridot?!” she yelled out, almost by instinct. For a moment, she saw Nautilus stir out of the corner of her eye, and she worried that everyone was going to wake up. But Nautilus just kept sleeping.

The star, though, stopped, freezing in place. And then it shot down, right towards her. For a moment, Almond almost considered grabbing her sword, but… it was definitely Peridot. She could see her and her wand silhouetted against the night sky. Peridot was totally harmless.

“ _Hahaha!_ ” Peridot laughed as she came to a stop in front of Almond, brushing back her green hair. “I knew you…”

“Shh!” Almond said, putting her finger to Peridot’s lips. Peridot’s face turned crimson. “You’ll wake everyone up!”

Peridot batted Almond’s hand away, and then continued, her voice a whisper and a shout at once, “I knew you _slowpokes_ would take forever to get anywhere, so I’ve been tailing you!”

“Yeah, tailing _me,_ ” Almond whispered back, smirking.

Peridot’s already crimson face turned redder. She whisper-shouted, “No?! Shut up!”

“Have you been watching me sleep too?”

Even redder. She hissed out an “Ugggggh!” She pulled on her ears. “I hate you!”

Almond started to laugh, leaning over and clutching her stomach. “You’re… you’re so predictable!”

Peridot, her bright red face making her look like a set of holiday decorations, turned the broom around. Still whisper-shouting, she ‘yelled’, “Argh! That’s it! I’m leaving!”

Almond froze, her smile fading. Maybe it was because of the nightmare she just had, but for some reason… she didn’t want Peridot to leave. “Wait.”

Peridot stopped too, looking back behind herself at Almond with wide, surprised eyes.

“Can I… take a ride with you?”

Peridot fell off her wand and landed in the snow with a _whump_.

“Peridot???” Almond said, rushing over to her side.

No sooner had she started moving than Peridot pulled her face out of the snow… or what was left of it. Her face was so red the snow had literally melted around her.

“Yes??? Of course???” said Peridot, sounding a little unhealthily giddy.

Almond couldn’t help it - she laughed, raising a mitten to her mouth. “Thank you.”

“But… but…” Peridot said quickly, brushing snow off the front of her dress. She pointed a finger at Almond. “You better not… you better not get scared or fall off of anything, OK?!”

“Please,” Almond scoffed, rolling her eyes. “What do you take me for?”

“Well, not just _anyone_ gets to ride with me!” Peridot whisper-shouted, then seemed to realize what she’d said and backpedaled. “I mean… ugh! I don’t know what I mean! Just get on!”

And Peridot climbed back up onto her wand, which continued to hover with a soft humming noise, seating herself at the front of it.

Almond stared at it. She’d flown in the Flybus, and that hadn’t been scary, but that had _actual seats._ This was just a thin stick attached to a star, floating with magic.

But she was _Almond,_ she thought. She wasn’t scared of anything, much less some stupid broom wand thing!

With a “hup,” she hooked her leg over the top of it and climbed on… and almost immediately lost her balance and fell off, barely landing on her feet.

She tried again. Again, she nearly immediately lost her balance and fell off. She started to try yet again, and Peridot spoke up.

“Grab my waist!”

Almond, halfway to climbing on, stared at her. Her cheeks got a little warmer.

“Excuse me?”

Almond couldn’t see Peridot’s face, but she could only imagine how red it was becoming.

“To… to make it easier to get on!” hissed Peridot. “And so you don’t fall off! Duh!”

Almond laughed again. “OK, OK.”

This time, as she climbed on, she put her gloved hands around Peridot’s waist, scooting close to her. But she almost fell again, so she scooted _even closer,_ so that her hands were wrapped around Peridot’s stomach and her head was nearly on Peridot’s shoulder.

She was definitely blushing now. Her cheeks hadn’t felt so warm, since… since…

“Like this?” she said, almost into Peridot’s ear.

“YES,” Peridot squeaked. “THAT’S GOOD.”

Almond gulped, looking down at the ground below her. But she wasn’t scared. Not of something like _flying._ Not one bit.

“Alright!” she said, glad she didn’t have to be too loud when she was right next to Peridot’s head. “Let’s fly this thing!”

She could almost imagine Peridot squeezing her eyes shut as she said, “Hold on tight!” and kicked her foot against the snow. Instantly, the wand started to hum louder, the large star on the back of it glowing with energy as it lifted off from the ground and took into the sky.

Almond couldn’t help but scream as the ground left her.

A scream of _joy,_ of course.

But things calmed down more quickly than Almond expected. Sure, she had her eyes shut tight so she couldn’t see anything. Sure, she was holding onto Peridot’s waist so tightly that it might leave marks. And sure, holding onto Peridot’s waist was the only thing keeping her from meeting an untimely and likely grisly death. But… things were surprisingly calm, once they were in the air. Peridot’s wand continued to move at a slow and steady pace, flying over the trees and (once Almond dared herself to open her eyes and look) eventually settling over a nearby lake.

Almond peeked over the side of the wand, looking down towards the lake’s surface. She saw herself, looking down, and a still-blushing Peridot reflected in it. The star on the back of Peridot’s broom glowed brightly in its reflection, but nowhere nearly as brightly as the waxing moon, which covered all of the lake’s surface in its image.

It was… magical.

“This is so cool, Peridot,” she said, just quietly enough so as not to startle her. She squeezed Peridot tighter, nestling her head into her back.

“That’s nothing, haha!” Peridot laughed. “Check… check this out!”

And she did a roll with her wand, turning them both upside-down for just a moment. Peridot held onto her hat, and Almond screamed, surprised, before breaking into peals of laughter.

“Cool, right?” Peridot said breathlessly, fixing her hat.

“That was _awesome_ ,” Almond breathed. She let her heart slow down until it wasn’t pounding against her chest, resting against Peridot’s back. She imagined Peridot beaming, her face still bright red, and smiled.

They continued crossing the lake’s surface for a few minutes, completely quietly. There was no sound at all, except for their breathing, their breaths misting in the cold night air.

Almost noticed her cheeks didn’t feel as warm anymore, and she didn’t feel… that feeling that definitely wasn’t fear, no sir.

Almond spoke again, very quietly. “Were you really up just to watch me sleep?”

Peridot replied, almost automatically, “Not really,” and then she added, in a much louder voice, “I mean, no! Of course not! Geez!”

“Then…” Almond said, trying not to laugh at her, “why were you up?”

“Couldn’t sleep,” Peridot said simply. “That’s all.”

“I couldn’t sleep either,” Almond said softly.

“...Why not?” asked Peridot.

Almond shrugged, as best as she could with her arms wrapped around Peridot’s waist. “Bad dreams.”

For a moment, Peridot didn’t speak. Almond wondered if maybe Peridot didn’t hear her, but then Peridot said, quietly, “Me too.”

“Huh?” said Almond, surprised. “But you’re the bad guy! What do _you_ have bad dreams about?”

Almond could Peridot frown in her reflection in the lake. “Well, you don’t see me asking what _your_ bad dreams are about, do you?” Then she seemed to realize what she’d said, and looked alarmed. “Sorry, I mean… it’s just… it’s just personal, OK?” She huffed. “Geez.”

“Alright, alright,” said Almond, although she was still confused. “Sorry.”

They don’t speak again for a minute, but Almond kind of liked that. Almond thought there was something surprisingly calming about flying, or maybe… or maybe with being with Peridot like this. It felt right, somehow. Like she was meant to be here. It was so beautiful, and Peridot was so _warm..._

“...To tell me, that’d be OK…” Peridot whispered, and Almond realized that she’d been talking.

“What?”

Peridot gulped. “I said… I said… if… if you wanted to tell me what _your_ bad dreams are about, that’d be OK… I guess…”

Almond laughed softly. “OK. I guess it couldn’t hurt. I mean, who are you going to tell, the Nightmare Knight?”

Peridot smiled a little smugly. “Maybe.”

“...Actually,” Almond said, frowning. “My dreams are about him.”

“What?!” yelled Peridot, almost whipping around. “ _Him?_ But he’s super nice! He bakes me cupcakes! He watches…”

Almond couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She stared at Peridot blankly, almost glaring. “Are we… are we talking about the same guy?! The _Nightmare Knight?!_ You know he’s tried to _kill me,_ right? Me, and my friends, and _Cucumber?_ ”

Peridot squeaked, “Oh, um, yeah. That guy. He’s… really scary.”

“Who did you _think_ I was talking about?” Almond asked. Then, quieter, she said, “You’re not making fun of me, are you?”

“ _No!”_ said Peridot, very loudly, and the wand nearly careened off course before adjusting back to flying in a straight line. “No, definitely not! I would never!”

“OK,” sighed Almond. “Good. You must have been talking about someone else.”

Peridot nodded slowly. “...Yeah.” She’s quiet for a moment. “So, you dream he… he tries to hurt you?”

“Yeah,” Almond said. “I mean, sort of. _I’m_ not scared of him _,_ you know. But Cucumber’s a big wimp. I just get worried sometimes. You know?”

Peridot nodded. “Yeah, your brother _is_ kind of a scaredy-cat.”

“My sister.”

“What?”

“My sister,” Almond repeated. “She’s a girl.”

“Oh,” said Peridot, seeming to consider this. Then she said, perhaps a little too smugly, “Well, I’m trans too, so whatever.”

“You are?!” Almond exclaimed. “Whoa!”

“Uh, yeah,” said Peridot, looking over her shoulder and smiling awkwardly. “It’s not like it’s a big deal or anything…”

“I mean, I guess not,” said Almond, with a shrug, before breaking into a grin. “But it’s still really cool!”

Peridot blushed, deeper than she already was, and smiled a softer but much more genuine smile. Almond thought she seemed happier… and that made Almond happier too.

“Anyway, um, yeah, that’s what my bad dreams are about,” Almond continued. “It’s not a big deal either. It just makes it hard to sleep sometimes.”

Almond watched Peridot’s reflection. Peridot was staring down at it as well, at the surface of the lake.

“I had a bad dream too,” she said.

“Want to talk about it?” Almond said quietly. “You know, uh, girl to girl.”

“I guess,” Peridot said, continuing to stare down at the surface of the lake, at the moon’s reflection. “It was about us. We were getting married…”

Almond nearly fell off the wand.

“What?!”

“I MEAN,” Peridot said, very, very loudly. “WE WERE… BEING GOOD FRIENDS, AND, UH…”

“ _Married?!”_

“ _Pretend I didn’t say that!”_

Almond started to laugh. “No way! Geez, Peridot. I knew you had a thing for me and everything…”

_“I do not!”_

“But... married, huh?” she said, nestling into Peridot’s back again. If Peridot’s face was crimson before, then at that point, it must have become like Tomato’s hair. “That was a _bad_ dream?”

Peridot huffed. “Not at first! But then… my m… I mean, _Queen Cordelia…_ she showed up.”

Almond blinked. She’s never actually met Queen Cordelia, and doesn’t know anything about her. Was she mean to Peridot…? If she was, Almond would have to kick her butt _even harder_ later.

“Ugh, this is embarrassing…” Peridot said quietly, “but… you know Punisher Pumice, right?”

“Know it?!” Almond said, very loudly. She would have thrown her hands up in the air in excitement, but she was too busy trying not to fall into the lake. “I love it! You watch it too?!”

“Yes!” Peridot yelled, and then, quickly, “I mean, I watch it sometimes. It’s an OK show, I guess.” She lets out a fake cough. “Anyway. Remember Season 2, Episode 8?”

“The one about Carnelian?” Almond supplied instantly. “She had mean parents, so she ran away from home to join Punisher Pumice’s team. What about it?”

Peridot frowned, looking down towards the lake again.

“Oh,” Almond said. “ _Oh.”_

“...Yeah,” said Peridot, very softly.

“Why don’t you run away from Cordelia then?” said Almond, as if this was the most obvious thing ever. “You can join the good…”

“It’s not like that!” said Peridot quickly, and the broom teetered again. “Queen Cordelia’s really nice!”

“Uh, she’s evil?” Almond scoffed, tilting her head. “She wants to take over the world? Remember?”

“Yeah, and she’s really nice to _me,”_ Peridot replies firmly. “You wouldn’t get it, OK?”

Almond shrugged. “I guess not.” Her eyes widened as she realized something. “Wait, if you say Cordelia’s really nice to you, and… that episode was about...”

Peridot frowned.

“Sorry,” Almond said when she saw her expression. “You must not want to talk about this, huh?”

“Not really.”

“Alright, I won’t talk about it anymore,” Almond said.

“Thank you.”

They’re reaching the other side of the lake, tall trees coming into view. Almond’s legs are starting to get sore, and she imagined that Peridot herself must be getting tired of flying for so long.

“Uh, not that I can’t handle taking us back right away, of course,” said Peridot, confirming Almond’s suspicions, “but can we… rest here a bit?”

“Of course!” Almond said. “My legs hurt anyway.”

With a nod, Peridot landed the broom in a flat outcropping.

She didn't get off it though.

“Don’t want me to let go, huh?” Almond teased, grinning.

“S-shut up!”

Still grinning, Almond let go of Peridot’s waist. She suddenly blushed, thinking of how she had been holding it for so long, and tried to shake her head free of those thoughts before hopping off the broom. Her feet crunched against the grass, wet with melted snow. _Grass_ , she thinks! Not snow! She could lay down here. She could _sleep_ here.

So she let herself fall back against the grass, using her arms as a pillow, letting out a deep relieved sigh.

Peridot looked down at her skeptically, then fell back against the grass too, right next to her.

They stared at the stars together for a moment - the sparkling constellations in the sky, the infinity of space. She wondered, briefly, if there was anyone else staring out at the stars tonight, or if it was just her and Peridot, the only people in all the world.

“The stars are beautiful tonight, huh?” said Almond, smiling at her.

Peridot smiled back. “Yeah. They are.”

“You’re such a sap, Peridot,” she said, grinning.

“Ugggh,” Peridot groaned, covering her face with her hands.

Almond laughed to herself, then went back to staring out at the stars. This was… nice. This felt nice. She felt like her and her friends were always rushing to their next destination, trying to beat the Nightmare Knight as fast as they could, helping whoever they could along the way. It was unusual for her to have a break, to have… safety.

And now… now she had someone she could consider a friend. Not her enemy. That was nice too.

She let herself relax, letting her eyes flutter shut.

In moments, she fell asleep.

* * *

“No! Please… please…”

Almond jolted awake. She was half-expecting to be at the campsite, but instead she was… next to a lake? She looked around, and saw a figure next to her, talking to herself… _Peridot???_

...And without her hat on??? It was laying next to her. Why?

Suddenly, her memories came flooding back. She had left the campsite to go on a wand ride with Peridot. She must have fallen asleep. That meant… Peridot must be asleep too.

“I’ll be good!” she heard Peridot cry out, squirming, and Almond’s heart sank. She immediately climbed over top of Peridot, as Peridot cried out again, “I promise!”

Almond pressed her hands against Peridot’s shoulders and started to shake her violently back and forth. “Peridot, get up! Get up, OK?! You’re having a bad dream!”

Peridot suddenly opened her eyes, blinking. She stared up at Almond, looking unsure where she was or what was in front of her.

And then she pulled Almond down towards her and kissed her on the lips.

Almond didn’t think. She _couldn’t_ think. Her brain just stopped, and when it started again, she was kissing Peridot back. Peridot’s hands were in her hair, and her hands were in Peridot’s hair, as they pressed their lips against each other, over and over and over.

Then they broke apart from the kiss to breathe, staring into each other’s eyes.

And Peridot’s entire face went red, from under her scarf to the tips of her forehead. You could practically see the blush rising up her face - if it was a cartoon, there would have been a slide whistle. Almond felt her own face becoming very, _very_ warm.

“AHHHHHHH?!” Peridot screamed, scooting back from Almond as fast as possible.

“AHHHHHHH?!” Almond screamed, backing away from Peridot as fast as possible.

“That didn’t happen!” Peridot screeched, pulling her ears down. “ _That didn’t happen!”_

 _“Yes, it did!"_  Almond yelled. Then, much more quietly, “I’ve kissed two girls in two days…”

“That wasn’t your first kiss?!” Peridot wailed.

“I kissed Nautilus, like, yesterday!” Almond said immediately, before realizing what she’d said and feeling her cheeks turn _even warmer_.

“You kissed _four-eyes?!”_

“What’s wrong with that?!”

“I _wanted to be your first!”_ Peridot wailed again.

“You…” said Almond, still screaming, and then she said, in a normal voice, “Wait, what?”

Peridot clapped her hands over her mouth. “Nothing!”

Almond stared at her.

And Almond giggled, sputtered, and then started to laugh. She started to laugh really, really hard, clutching at her stomach, then fell back against the grass. She was laughing so hard that there were tears in her eyes.

Peridot puffed out her cheeks. “What’s so funny?!”

“It’s just… you’re supposed to be my enemy! You’re a bad guy!” Almond said, between laughs. “And you have this _huge_ crush on me, and now you _kissed me_ , and I… I _kissed you back!”_

Peridot’s face couldn’t become any more crimson without breaking the laws of color theory. “I… I…”

“Isn’t it _crazy?!_ ” Almond said.

And Peridot started to laugh too, a girlish giggle, followed by hearty guffaws. “Yeah! Yeah, it is crazy!”

“And you know what the craziest part is?!” said Almond, continuing to laugh.

“No!”

“That I… that I think I might like you too! _”_

Peridot stopped laughing. She fell back against the grass in shock - Almond could almost imagine her heart exploding out of her chest.

“You… you do?” she said quietly, confirming that Almond’s confession hadn’t actually killed her.

Almond’s heart pounded as she got up from where she had fallen and walked over to Peridot. Peridot’s face was still a dark, dark shade of red. With as much confidence as she could muster, she bent down to Peridot’s side and brushed a mittened hand against her cheek.

She swallowed, trying to get the nerve to speak again. At last, she said, “Yeah.”

And then Almond leaned down close to Peridot, hoping that the wild beating of her heart wouldn't be felt through her lips as she kissed her again. Slowly, gently, Peridot closed her eyes and leaned back into the kiss.

When she broke the kiss and opened her eyes, Peridot’s eyes fluttered open.

“ _Oh,”_ said Peridot. Tears started to roll down her cheeks - Almond brushed them away.

“Thanks for taking me out here,” she said. “It was the best part of this whole stupid adventure.”

“You’re welcome,” said Peridot, flatly. It wouldn’t have surprised Almond if Peridot thought she was still dreaming.

“Now, um, can you…” said Almond, scratching the back of her head and grinning. She started to stand up. ”Take me back to the campsite? I’m sure Cucumber is worried sick about me.”

“Wait,” said Peridot, sitting up and reaching out to grab Almond’s sleeve. “Can we… just stay here for a few more minutes?”

Almond’s grin softened into a smile. “Sure.”

Peridot smiled back. “Thank you.”

* * *

Eventually, they returned back to the campsite. Peridot dropped Almond off a few hundred feet away from it, so that the rest of her group wouldn’t see her.

They kissed each other again before Peridot departed.

“Our little secret, OK?” Almond had said, extending her pinky finger.

Peridot nodded, smiling, and took Almond’s pinky finger in hers. “Our secret.”

When Almond went back to the campsite, nobody was there. It took a little while before Nautilus came back to the campsite and saw her, sitting by the fireplace, her hair braided again, polishing her sword. Almond blushed when she saw Nautilus by herself, but Nautilus didn’t - she only seemed concerned.

“Almond! Where have you been? Cucumber and I have been so worried about you! We thought something might have happened…” Nautilus frowned, which was rare for her - it told Almond just how serious she was. “Just what have you been doing?”

Almond shrugged, although she couldn’t stop herself from blushing or smiling as she stared down at her sword and thought about the past few hours. “Nothing, really.”

Nautilus stared skeptically at her. “I’ll… go fetch Cucumber.”

When she returned shortly with Cucumber, Cucumber ran over and nearly tackled her. Nautilus ran over to join her, hugging her only the tiniest bit more daintily. Cucumber started to cry, which broke Almond’s heart - she’d never wanted to worry her so much.

“I thought I’d lost you!” said Cucumber. “I was so scared...”

“As was I!”

Almond smiled at them. Somehow, she didn’t feel like scoffing and saying everyone worried too much and that she was _fine,_ really. Somehow, she was too happy for that… happy to see them, happy over what had just happened. She hugged her sister and Nautilus back and maybe cried a little herself.

She didn’t regret this adventure one bit.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to [Ivy](https://twitter.com/IvyCSnow), [KiraYoshikage](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KiraYoshikage), and [jothending](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jothending/pseuds/jothending) for giving me feedback on this fic!


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